“Embarrassed to be human” – those are the stark words from a local photographer who has captured on camera the significant damage caused to the former Ryde Theatre, which has sat empty for over 10 years.
Earlier this week, Island Echo reported that Sienna Anderson’s bicycle had been stolen from outside her home on Union Street. Amazingly, against the odds, the bicycle was successfully recovered when security guards found it dumped inside Ryde Theatre and were able to trace the owner thanks to the Island Echo article.
The around-the-clock security team had only been put in place that night after individuals were spotted in the bell tower overlooking Lind Street. The vandals were caught inside the building and very abruptly left, leaving Sienna’s bike behind.
One sad outcome of the situation is the reality of the damage that has been caused inside Ryde Theatre – something Sienna says is “absolutely heartbreaking”.
The entire building has been vandalised with almost every pane of glass smashed and walls kicked in. An entire ceiling has been brought down in one part. Rows of seats have been mindlessly thrown off the balconies, chandeliers have been smashed and toilets demolished.
Paint has also been thrown around, pipes ripped from the walls flooding the floors below and beautiful wrought iron spindles kicked from their placements.
Alongside all the damage, a number of stolen goods with labels attached have also been found.
Sienna has taken a series of photographs to show just how bad things have become inside.
It’s said that security will now remain in place for the foreseeable future to prevent any further act of mindless and despicable vandalism.
Ryde Town Council are hoping to take ownership of the building in order to secure its future. £480,000 of funding was awarded to Ryde last September.
Could they possibly be the same little crew who brazenly hopped over a fence at the back of the bowling alley yesterday afternoon, in front of scores of people out walking and cycling, made their way up the stairs to the balcony and started kicking their way through the fence protecting the main viewing area? What is sad is that we felt we should call the police, but then realised it would probsbly be a waste of our time.
You still should have reported it, reporting a crime is not a waste of time.
In principle, yes, but actual personal experience shows it can be pointless on the Island – to the extent of our handing in clear identifying evidence, receiving a crime number, following up the lack of action months later by visiting the police station, having a new crime number issued and nothing further happened, not even a call to say that no further action would be the outcome.
Whilst we would very much wish to believe your approach always produced results it is not our experience and too much frequently goes by the board nowadays.
What a shame you could of helped stop the break in (ring the police) but chose to do nothing. Now the theatre has been trashed.
It was not the theatre, which had been trashed previously.
you could have videoed it and put on Utube.. Instead of just walking away…
No. YouTube is a medium not everyone uses, ourselves included, nor would doing that serve any useful purpose.
Probably the same little A holes that broke in to our building site in Ryde and absolutely destroyed everything they could in our tea hut, ripped pipes off the wall, electrics kicked off, every last thing destroyed that they could.
The police weren’t interested. They broke in to the houses being built, we double secured them so they smashed their way through the roof causing thousands in damage. Police still not interested. There is no justice for these kind of youths, it makes my blood boil.
surely you could have advised the police that they were posting wrong pronouns on twitter – the old bill would have been there like a shot and then arrested them for damage as well.
Kids will be kids
Dreadful behaviour. I hope the Police track them
What an utterly idiotic thing to say. Are you unwell?
Kids will be kids eh?
A dismissive parental quote if ever.
Very unfortunate to such a lovely building but I do wonder why no security or local government curator/custodian had not kept a visual on the building on a weekly check even just to make sure for pipes freezing etc
It’s privately owned and security would be down to them. Ryde Town Council are hoping to buy it.
Not entirely in agreement. Whilst not foolproof, Police foot patrols used to prevent a lot of this sort of thing. In modern day parlance the Police have a duty of care for persons and property no matter who owns it.
Every time a building closes down, the youths always seem to be able to gain access and cause damage.
Why does this happen, buildings not properly secured and the owners not wanting to spend money on security.
Sad bastards
We worked on the major refurb back in 1990/91.
So sad to see what has been happened to it.
Yet I wonder how many here deride such, and yet support charities to fund the families of such beings to feed the next, up and coming generation of swamp life.
ALL the police care about is ‘issuing a crime ref no.’ and then dumping the problem onto your insurance.
Courts are even more useless now as the third world fills our jails to bursting, they can’t give decent or meaningful sentences anymore.
So, time, will make it worse not better, as these type breed more rapidly than decent people.
This is the good times, await the expansion of Ryde to ‘know’ the coming difference.
Vote to get those useless, greedy, self serving removed to limit, ever more damage to this Island.
You don’t sound as though YOU care for anyone or anything.”Swamp life”, “the third world fills our jails” …….. You are evidently part of the problem, and not part of a solution.
no treesa – it is tree hugging, hand wringing, do gooding, liberal, lefty apologists that are the problem – get rid of these scu m bags, deport the gimme grants, bang up the little t wats and impoverish their parents further if the little c un ts won’t toe the line.
Although I’m not an Islander, this has broken my heart to see these photos. I hope these vandals are caught and dealt with accordingly. This theatre is beautiful. I will never understand why the youth feel they need to do such a thing to a historical theatre.
Unknown why people always want to destroy things… what is wrong with them, and NO it is not normal behaviour at all. I am not just talking about ‘kids’ either…
We were all kids once upon a time for awhile, did you do this sort of stuff ? Myself I did not, I have always respected other peoples property, I always treat things as I would like my things treated.
Too many people just do not care.. then their children do not care, and when a youngster is caught, parents always say , ‘ Oh no could not have been my child!’ so sad…
Some here miss the point. Unless we want our society to descend into illegal vigilante behaviour we have a right to feel that those we pay to perform public duty are properly funded, staffed in sufficient numbers and well enough led to do the job they wish to and we expect of them.
That we means we hold our leaders to account, both council and government, if they fail to do exactly this on our behalf.
Which they are both failing to do and have been for years.
Again, if people showed respect for others and their property, then we would not need such tight security or as many Police. Too many people just do not care about others.. always littering, breaking things that we council tax payers have paid for ! People wonder why taxes rise, just look around, open your eyes when out for your one hour walk, and see all the litter.. and dog mess, plus those little black bags some dog owners leave behind.. disgusting.
no council money to be wasted on it – unless they cut council tax bills first
Convert it to flats so in a couple of years time these children can be given a free roof above their heads to bring up there own little darlings to be upright members of society just like them. The circle of life.